PUBLIC transportation ridership has gained traction in Selangor, with the state’s initiatives getting positive feedback from passengers.
State investment, trade and mobility committee chairman Ng Sze Han said based on recent data, the average daily usage of public transport in Selangor was about 1.1 million passengers.
Among the initiatives are the Smart Selangor bus and Rapid Bus Demand Responsive Transit (DRT) service, he said.
“It also includes services operated by Prasarana Malaysia Bhd such as the Light Rail Transit (LRT), Mass Rapid Transit, monorail and buses.
“Additionally, the construction of the LRT3 project connecting Bandar Utama in Petaling Jaya to Johan Setia in Klang is expected to begin operations on March 1, next year,” he said during the Selangor State Assembly sitting at Bangunan Dewan Negeri Selangor in Shah Alam.
He was replying to Michelle Ng (PH-Subang Jaya) who asked about the state government’s plans for public transportation as there was still much room for improvement, such as provision of infrastructure and connectivity of public transport network in Selangor.
“Our efforts to better the public transport connectivity demonstrates the Selangor government’s commitment to achieving the 60% target of public transport usage by 2035,” said Sze Han.He said the state government planned to develop a comprehensive public transport plan to meet the first-mile-last-mile connectivity needs.
“It does not only focus on modes of transport such as buses, rail, taxis and e-hailing, it also covers all aspects of transportation within a single ecosystem, including infrastructure like bus stops, public transport hubs, micro mobility, e-scooters and pedestrian walkways,” he said.
He added that currently the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the Selangor state mobility master plan study was in its final stages of preparation.
“A workshop with all Selangor local authorities along with the technical department, was held from Aug 1 to 4 to discuss the TOR, ensuring that the study to be conducted is comprehensive and considers policies, strategies and guidelines at the state, national and international levels.”The session also gave attention to public transport issues faced by each local authority, he said.